Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Yasiel Puig is definitely ready to represent the Dodgers and the National League at the All-Star Game next week. Check him out all decked-out in his All-Star gear - except, that's not the Dodger All-Star cap. That atrocity has that horribly ugly grey in it. Pic above via @Dodgers on twitter.

Are you frick'n kidding me! This is the most laughable thing I've ever
read. The Dodgers idea of a commemorative ticket for Kershaw's
no-hitter is another print-at-home paper ticket. Goodness, there's not a single
collector/fan in the upper-reaches of that organization. They just
don't understand what makes a lot of Baseball fans tick. You must read Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA's post, "Season ticket holders miffed over Kershaw no-hitter commemorative tickets" for a good... no, a sad and feeling unappreciated, laugh.

Come on... Really? The DL revolving door will not stop. Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Josh Beckett heading to disabled list." Beckett has a left hip impingement - whatever that is. In his place will be former infielder turned reliever Pedro Baez. Per a Dodger press release:

Baez was previously recalled for one game earlier this year, May 5 at
Washington, and allowed two runs on two hits in 1.0 inning of relief in
his Major League debut. The converted infielder opened the year at
Double-A Chattanooga and went 2-1 with six saves and a 2.79 ERA (6
ER/19.1 IP) in 17 games to earn a May 25 promotion to Albuquerque. The
26-year-old last pitched on Saturday, allowing three runs on two hits in
1.0 inning vs. Las Vegas, and has posted a 4.50 ERA (8 ER/16.0 IP) in
17 appearances with the Isotopes.

Isagani Celzo, a math instructor at the School of Social Justice in
Huntington Park, has been selected by fans to represent the Dodgers in
the "Target Presents PEOPLE All-Star Teachers" campaign, which
celebrates current and retired teachers who make an impact on the lives
of their students and communities.

Celzo earned an academic scholarship while working as a janitor and
graduated magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics at age 20. A
National Board certified math teacher, he is a founding member of the
School of Social Justice, where he teaches geometry and AP calculus.

If you don't check out Jim Campanis' anecdotes that he writes on his facebook page then you are really missing out. As you may know, he is the grandson of former Dodger GM Al Campanis and a former professional Baseball player himself. He was drafted by Seattle in 1988, but never reached higher than AA ball. As a member of a connected Baseball family he has plenty of stories about his experiences in the game, and he consistently shares them on facebook. Yesterday, he wrote a great piece about the first manger he played for in pro-ball, Ralph Dick. Check it out here. He is worth a follow. BTW, you can also follow him on twitter here: @JimCampanis. Another favorite story I've read from him is about Bobby Castillo:

Bobby
was immediately a clubhouse favorite. He was always very cool with me
and used to do this Cheech Marin imitation…the guys would crack up. His
laid back personality was a perfect compliment to some of the more
intense personalities on the team and he helped break the tension on
many occasions using his wit and humor.

Via David Seidman at Forbes, we find out about an woman who found some real treasure. This lady came upon a Babe Ruth signed letter at an estate sale in Los Angeles for $1.00. Why can't I find stuff like this? Wow!

On her rounds she had paid a $1 for a scrapbook filled with letters which celebrities had written to an Elk Lodge Leader, presuming they were replicas.

In fact they were real and included a letter typed and signed by Babe Ruth from the film set of Pride of the Yankees in 1942 where he was working as a consultant.